On January 14, 2020, users running Windows Server 2008 applications will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes. If you are one of them, you should read carefully this article.
Support ends for Windows Server 2008 in less than 5 months. This means that private users and businesses running Windows Server 2008 applications and workloads will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes after the end-of-support deadline. Using Windows Server 2008 End of Life means you will have to hold onto old legacy applications without being able to upgrade them. You should know that without this support, your data and your company will be exposed to security threats and you will no longer be following industry regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cyber-attacks prey on vulnerabilities such as end of life products. So, there are many users out there who need to start thinking about finally moving on from their favorite operating system.
There are many options for you as the end of life for Server 2008:
Move to Azure
The first option is to migrate and move to Microsoft Azure cloud platform. You don’t need any changes to the source code while moving Windows Server and SQL Server to Microsoft Azure. Azure SQL Database Managed Instances is a deployment option in Azure that enables you to quickly and confidently move your on-premises SQL Database at scale in Azure. You can rehost your SQL with few or no application code changes, and it’s a version-free platform. Microsoft is offering several incentives to help organizations adapt and introduce Azure into their environments. In addition to that, Microsoft has offered three additional years of support (ending on July 2022 for SQL Server and January 2023 for Windows Server) to give customers time to move workloads to Azure.
Move to OneDrive
OneDrive for Business can replace your network file shares. With OneDrive for Business, an appropriately licensed user is allocated storage by Microsoft. Migrating your NFS and SMB file shares correctly can help reduce the costs associated with data migration to the cloud, lower ongoing costs for cloud services, and minimize or eliminate developer costs. When you are migrating to the cloud, you don’t have to worry about a hardware failure or your computer getting infected with ransomware.
In just a few years, having everything on-site isn’t going to make any sense either, as there are just so many products being hosted in the cloud and some will be cloud-only. Since each business will have different needs and constraints, our team can help you prepare a migration plan and help you to migrate your data to OneDrive successfully.
Upgrading
With the rapid pace of technical development, having 10-year-old software running critical parts of your enterprise is dangerous and concerning. If you want to keep everything in-house without monthly costs and want to be sure that your data is safe, an upgrade guarantees additional security, saves costs, and improves overall performance. Keeping the systems beyond the end of life will likely result in higher operational tech support expenses owing to the additional investments required to keep them secure.
Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense to keep old software patched, especially when there are newer versions of the software out there. You should start planning to upgrade to Windows 10, or an alternative operating system, as soon as possible to keep your data safe.
Backup your data
The final approach is just to stay in place. End of life doesn’t mean Windows Server 2008 will stop working on January 14, 2020 – you’ll still be able to use it for as long as you want. However, if you chose this or any of those options, we recommend you back up your data in cloud storage such as Google Drive, Box, Egnyte, Wasabi, etc. This process is recommendable with a third-party tool or cloud migration solution like Cloudsfer you can do an automatic daily/monthly backup, you will get a migration report and the whole process is secure.
Don’t let your data go unprotected and remember that Cloudsfer team is here to help you migrate your data to the desired system for greater security, performance, and innovation.
